Christie’s Puts Brake on Car Sale

By Robert Frank

Christie’s International Motor Cars has pulled a 1939 German racing car from auction this weekend.

According to a Bloomberg article by Michael R. Sesit, the Auto Union Type-D was expected to fetch $12 million to $15 million — a record for an automobile. It was expected to be auctioned in Paris on Saturday. Auto Union was the forerunner of Audi and “dominated the Grand Prix race circuit” in the late 1930s, according to the article.

The Bloomberg article says the Auto Union project was partially subsidized by Hitler, who saw the car’s victories as “evidence of German technological prowess.” It also mentions a Stalin connection, although that seems more tangential.

Wouldn’t Christie’s have known about the connection before it put the car up for auction? After all, the car has long been nicknamed the “Hitler Porsche.”

Perhaps there’s more here than meets the eye: The main reason auction houses pull items is because of disputes over ownership or origins — and the Auto Union’s past is complicated.

The car was one of two transported from Germany to Russia after World War II, as part of the spoils of war. An American, Paul Karassik, brought them to the West in the 1980s, stripped them of their parts and had them re-assembled in Britain. Audi later acquired the 1938 car from Mr. Karassik; the 1939 car is in private hands.

About The Wealth Report

The Wealth Report is a daily blog focused on the culture and economy of the wealthy. It is written by Robert Frank, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal and author of the newly released book “THE HIGH-BETA RICH.”